Press Release: New York State Announces Opening of $350 Million Bronx Behavioral Heal

Press Release: New York State Announces Opening of
$350 Million Bronx Behavioral Health Campus

For Immediate Release
January 19, 2016
New York State Announces Opening of $350 Million Bronx Behavioral
Health Campus
New State of the Art Facility Offers Inpatient, Outpatient, and
Residential Mental Health Services to New York City Residents;
Integrates Psychiatric Center into Surrounding Community
(Albany, New York)- The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH)
and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY)
announced the opening of the new $350 million Bronx Behavioral
Health Campus in the Morris Park section of the Bronx, New York
City. The new 436,310-square-foot facility features modern amenities
for the 156-bed Bronx Psychiatric Center, the 86-bed New York City
Children’s Center- Bronx Campus, and an expanded 188-bed residential
village providing transitional and supported housing to adults with
behavioral health issues.

“Throughout the history of our agency, the Office of Mental Health
has understood the role that healing environments play in an
individual’s recovery. The beautifully designed Bronx Psychiatric
Center and the Bronx Campus of the New York City Children’s Center
represent the State’s continued commitment to the City of New York
and its most vulnerable residents. This new campus offers safe and
secure facilities for individuals with mental illness to find hope,
realize recovery, and build resiliency in a setting that exemplifies
the best of what New York State has to offer,” said Office of Mental
Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Marie T. Sullivan.

The project was managed by DASNY, from the design that began in 2008
to its completion in December 2015. More than 5,000 workers, with
approximately 18 percent from the Bronx, were employed in its
development. Over 30% of all contracts were delivered to Minority
and Women Owned Business Enterprises, exceeding New York State’s
goals.

“DASNY is proud to have partnered with the Office of Mental Health
in delivering the state-of-the-art Bronx Psychiatric Center and the
Bronx Campus of the New York City Children’s Center as we continue
to strengthen New York’s safety net. This new facility will provide
comfort, security and the tools its inhabitants need to help them
recover and restart their lives. Constructing, and often financing,
the infrastructure that comprises the essential fabric of our
communities is at the core of what DASNY does,” said DASNY President
and CEO Gerrard P. Bushell.

The new campus replaces the current Bronx Psychiatric Center, which
opened in 1963, and Bronx Campus of the New York City Children’s
Center, which opened in 1969 as Bronx Children’s Hospital. It offers
a modern mental health treatment environment designed to provide
services in a respectful manner within a safe, secure, and
inspirational setting. The inpatient buildings feature secure indoor
and outdoor recreation areas, cutting-edge electronic monitoring
technologies, motivating educational settings, and comfortable
living quarters. All treatment areas within the inpatient buildings
were specifically designed to put patients at ease and provide a
safe working environment for OMH employees.

In addition to the inpatient buildings on the new Bronx Behavioral
Health Campus, the development also includes a new residential
village, which expands the availability of much- needed supported,
transitional, and crisis housing for New York City residents with
mental illness. In total, three OMH residential programs will be
operational on the site; a 48-bed Apartment Treatment program, a
96-bed Transitional Living Residence, and a new facility for OMH’s
44-bed Horizon House-Haven House crisis residence.

“The Bronx Campus of New York City Children’s Center has a proud
history of service to children with serious emotional disturbances
and their families, and we will continue such service through the
years in this modern and accessible facility. To serve as
inspiration for the resiliency they will build there, the children
have named each new unit in the building. Hope. Unity. Dream. Life.
These words will guide us as we help these children find the success
they deserve as they look towards happier and healthier futures,”
said Acting Interim Executive Director of the New York City
Children’s Center- Bronx Campus Marcia Alkins, MA.

“Bronx Psychiatric Center provides first-rate mental health care to
thousands of New Yorkers each year. The new architecturally
welcoming space, brightened by natural light from hundreds of
windows and surrounded by thoughtful landscaping, will help our
patients feel connected to the outside world and feel hopeful for
the future. The open design of the treatment units will enable our
employees to provide better supervision of patients and have the
space they need to provide safe one-on-one care,” said Bronx
Psychiatric Center’s Acting Executive Director Anita Daniels, MS,
RN-BC.

The campus features a new Central Services Building to provide
support services to both the inpatient buildings and the residential
village. This building contains administrative offices, a
centralized kitchen, maintenance shops, and other services that were
previously scattered throughout the campus. The consolidated
location of these services allows for more efficient operation of
the new buildings and reduces duplicative systems throughout the
campus.

In its new location, the Bronx Behavioral Health Campus is more
closely integrated with the immediate neighborhood and transforms
what was a secluded campus into a connected part of the community.
Adjacent to the facility is a recently constructed Residence Inn and
Applebees Restaurant, which provides visiting family members with
nearby food and lodging options. The close relationship with the
surrounding area will help patients feel less isolated and more
hopeful for their future return to the community.

The campus is constructed to operate as an energy efficient
building, with a pending goal of LEED-Silver certification from the
United States Green Building Conference. This energy-conscious
construction should reduce the facility’s energy consumption by 21%
or nearly $300,000 annually.